


Linked by the Chains of Fate

by orphan_account



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: I mean the first chapter contains major spoilers for BOTW so uh, Multi, Spoilers, This is like an AU/alternate take on BOTW, a lot of similar aspects but also many different aspects, many different dynamics exist, stuff goes down differently
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 06:45:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10588599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A prince named after a great calamity. A trapped princess, struggling to survive. A zora living in the shadow of his sister, a cowardly goron, and a rito who loves only to sing. As the cloud surrounding Hyrule castle starts to expand, the hero emerges from the shadows. There's just one small problem...(BOTW Spoilers)





	

Blood dripped down his face.  
Link was vaguely aware of the screaming around him, though he couldn't pinpoint who (or rather, what) the screams were coming from. It could have been the princess, though she had her hands clamped around her mouth. Perhaps it was the screeching of the guardians-did they scream? He couldn't remember, the world blurred and his eyelids feeling like a thousand pounds of steel.   
Could he remember anything at all? This moment seemed to last a million years. Stars could form and die, the goddesses themselves could have come to the ground and risen back up, and he wouldn't ever notice. This moment was an infinity of pain, an eternity of failure.  
Someone grabbed his arm; the princess, Link realized. It took only a moment for him to start running, the princess keeping him steady as the two ran. He slowly started to gain the upper hand, forcing himself to run faster as to get the princes to safety.   
The princess's mouth moved, but she said nothing. At least, nothing Link could make out. His eyes were wide open, yet there was a fuzziness to his vision. At times, odd speckles of dark brown and red would encompass his vision, though a quick shake of the head got rid of them.  
Rain fell the earth like a thousand tiny pinpricks, and on his open wounds, felt like salt. But the princess took priority, so Link kept to his path, running through the forest in hopes of some shelter from the rain.  
In a sudden gasp of pain, the princess's hand slipped from Link's own, and the two skidded to a stop. Link nearly toppled over, and the princess did, her legs collapsing in, knees and palms slamming into the soft, muddy earth below. In the silence of the forest, Link began to hear again.   
“How...” The princess chocked out, breathing heavily.   
Link sheathed the sword he didn't even realize he had out, as the princess continued to speak. Her eyes were bloodshot, face red from either all the running or the tears she was holding back-Link couldn't tell. Slowly, Link knelt down.  
“How did it come to this?” the princess stared at the ground, “The Divine Beasts...the Guardians...They've all turned against us...”  
Link said nothing. There was nothing too say. What could he say, that could make the princess feel better? All of her training, all her work, the constant pressure from the king and her kingdom...  
All for nothing.  
“It was...Calamity Ganon.” Her hand curled into fists, and she spoke with a ferocity and hatred Link had never seen in the princess before. “It turned them all against us! And everyone-Mipha, Urbosa, Revali, and Daruk...they're all trapped inside those things.”   
Link winced at the mention of the champions. There was no telling what sort of fate would befall on them, especially with the Divine Beasts corrupted.   
Suddenly, the princess gave a strangled cry, hands flying to her face to hide her tears.  
“It's all my fault! Our only hope for defeating Ganon is lost all because I couldn't harness this cursed power!” the princess cried, “Everything-everything I've done up until now...It was all for nothing...so I really am just a failure! ”  
The princess's tone took on a strange whisper. She slammed her fist into the ground, and looked at Link, nothing but heartbreak and shame written in her eyes.  
“All my friends...the entire kingdom...my father most of all...I tried, and I failed all of them... I've left them...”  
There was a moment's pause, and Link winced as the princess spat out the remainder of her sentence.  
“...all to die.”  
She could take it no longer. The princess started to sob, collapsing into Link's arms. Link wished he could think of something to say, but nothing could come out. He wanted to say it wasn't her fault, no one could have known-if anyone was to blame, it was him, for not being there when Ganon attacked, for not being strong enough to defeat Ganon.  
But his lips couldn't form the words.  
So the princess laid in his arms, maybe for a minute, maybe for ten, maybe for hours upon hours-the sky was an eternal gray, and time didn't seem to pass.   
At least not anymore.  
With a final hug, Link gazed into the princess's eyes. He nodded upwards, and the princess closed her eyes. She grunted as Link helped her up, and two continued to run. The forest was suspiciously silent, the only sound the rain that continued to pelt the two.  
It was when they reached an open clearing that they encountered trouble.   
“The....the Guardians....they're he-” the princess whispered, but Link raised his hand, signaling for her silence. One of the Guardians froze, looking around as the two waited in baited breath.   
_I must be strong enough,_ Link thought, slowly taking the master sword out of its sheath, _I must be strong enough to protect her._  
He pushed Zelda away, and praying that this would work, Link charged.  
The fight was short. Or was it drawn out? He was thrown around like a ragdoll, and for everyone Guardian he destroyed, two more seemed to replace it. He couldn't tell where the Guardians were coming from, just that they were there and he had to destroy them all.  
It was a valiant effort, but a vain one as well.  
“Link, save yourself! Go!” The princess pleaded with him, “I'll be fine, don't worry about me!” He had dropped to one knee, surrounded by Guardians who wanted nothing more than to kill the princess. Her words barely registered to Link.   
Link silently berated himself for not being a better fighter. If only he was a better fighter, a stronger fighter, why did the goddesses choose such a weak coward to protect the princess?   
_Get up,_ a voice inside him commanded, _Get up and fight for her life, you disgrace of a knight._  
“Run!” The princess placed a hand on his shoulder.   
It was then that a Guardian spotted them. It rushed over, its blue eye emitted a hideous red laser, locked right onto the princess. Link ran, ran towards his, screaming, yelling, every ounce of pain going into his swing as he charged-  
Link was no longer running. He didn't recall what happened, the world just seemed to shift, from him looking into that blue eye, to gazing up at the gray, gray skies.  
And he was being crushed.   
There was a pop, then a crunch, and Link continued to scream, but not out of anger. The princess wasn't in view, just the sky, and though he swore to be silent, he could only hear the sound of his own cries.  
Link wasn't there when the princess rushed forward, or when a golden glow flashed through the skies. He was floating away, far into the sky, into the stars. Then down, dropping like a rock, through the grass, through the bodies and the rock and the dirt.  
And then, Link was gone.  
~<^>~  
Her mother was gone.  
Riju stared at the sleeping baby in her arms with a blank expression. She felt no rage at him, no burning desire for justice or retribution. She didn't feel any love towards him, though Riju wasn't feeling much emotion at all, other than numbness.  
Nothing felt real anymore. Her mother, the head Chief of all Gerudos, a top of the line warrior that was as brave as she was kind, was just...gone.  
“Chief Anora died fighting the bravest fight of all,” a priestess has told Riju shortly after she broke the news, “She fought to bring life into this world. And though she lost her life, her sacrifice and wisdom will always be remembered amongst the great chiefs and warriors...”   
In front of her, Buliara, trusted bodyguard to the Chief, spoke to several representatives from other Gerudo villages, scattered amongst the valley. While they tried to keep quiet, Riju could still hear their whispers as the dignitaries tried to figure out what to do.  
“...Her second term was barely even half way through, if we hold a vote now it'll throw off everything!” One of the representatives said, brow furrowed.   
“We can't just not have a chief for five years, we'll just hold elections earlier to compensate.” Another one hissed.  
A third cleared her throat, “Why don't we just enact an emergency heir right? It's not a perfect solution, but Riju seems perfectly capable-”  
“Lady Riju is a meager thirteen years old,” Buliara said, her tone stern, “And has just lost her mother. She will not be assuming the duties of a chief.”  
“Besides, the people didn't select Riju to be their chief,” the first dignitary agreed, “It'd be unfair to the people to shove Riju into such a powerful position. How about we wait until...”  
Riju stopped listening. _Thirteen years old, a meager thirteen years old, just a kid._ She desperately wanted to yell at the representatives, tell them that she was Riju, daughter of Chief Anora, the kindest, strongest chief in all the land. Yet, no words would come out. No tears, no words, just a silence deep in Riju's soul.  
There was a few soft coos, and the bundle shifted.  
_He's awake,_ Riju realized, sitting up straight. Her brother's eyes fluttered open, red eyes meeting green as he stared at Riju. Riju sighed, bringing the bundle closer to her.   
The talking had stopped as Buliara held up her hand, silencing the representatives. She walked to Riju, kneeling down.  
“My lady,” she said softly, “It's time to go.”   
Supporting her brother with one arm, Riju tightly gripped Buliara's hand as the two walked out. Walking past the dignitaries, she couldn't help but hear one scoff as she passed by, all eyes glued to her brother.  
“What was Chief Anora thinking?,” the dignitary said when she presumed Riju was out of earshot, “Naming her own son after the Calamity...”  
It was then that for the first time, Nondorf started to cry.  
~<^>~  
_Deep in Hyrule, amongst the fields and forests, they lived. So very old their land was, so very new, reminiscent of myth and something more. They did not understand everything they found-temples with strange markings on the walls, odd shrines to unknown deities that would open for no soul, artifacts that seemed so advanced and yet covered in dirt and dust._  
Among them, the castle stood. Swirling with odd magic, maliciously familiar, none daring to approach. Surrounding them, the cloud.  
The cloud swirled and swayed, inch by inch advancing, but always reined in before it could spread any further. They didn't know why they couldn't pass through the cloud, but they didn't mind. Life was peaceful, life was good, and many had long stopped asking what the outside world was like.  
One day, a hero was resurrected.  
And a baby started to cry. 

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy folks and welcome to my fanfic! Leave a review and/or a favorite if you liked it-this is just the prologue but I promise there's gonna be many, many, many more chapters. You can also find this in fanfiction.net under the same name(different username but don't worry, it's still me!), if you're so inclined.  
> This is like a....IDK, an AU of BOTW? An alternate take that has aspects that closely follow BOTW while some aspects that are completely different? For example; the Gerudo aren't a women-only race, I'd say that their gender make up is like, 30% male to 70% female?  
> Anyhoo, as for the other changes...well, you'll just have to wait and see, ha. Until the next chapter, in which, the Zora celebrate and a hero emerges from the clouds! ...And possibly also crashes, who knows.


End file.
